In the wake of President-elect Donald Trumps Election Night victory, Fox News has experienced a significant surge in viewership, achieving its highest ratings in its 28-year history. For the week of November 11, 2024, Fox News captured a remarkable 69% share of the total cable news audience throughout the day and a 72% share during primetime. This boost in viewership is partly attributed to the publics interest in the new administration, which includes appointees from within the network itself.
While Fox News enjoyed this wave of increased ratings, competitors MSNBC and CNN faced substantial declines. MSNBCs primetime viewership plummeted by 57%, and its demographic of viewers aged 25 to 54 fell by 82%, marking its lowest week in the total day demo in over 25 years. CNN also saw declines, with a 62% drop in total primetime viewers and an 80% reduction in the same demographic.
Despite the overall negative trend in comparison to the previous week, Fox News still outperformed its cable news peers. It maintained its position as the most-watched network among basic cable networks in primetime and was second in the primetime demographic. In contrast, MSNBC and CNNs rankings fell substantially, with MSNBC dropping to fifth place in primetime total viewers and CNN slipping to tenth.
From a year-on-year perspective, Fox News exhibited double-digit gains, reflecting the impact of the election year. In contrast, MSNBC experienced significant year-to-year declines, with a 45% decrease in total viewers. CNNs year-to-year performance showed smaller declines in both total viewers and the desired demographic.
Fox News dominated the list of the 15 most-watched cable news shows of the week, with The Five leading in total viewership and Gutfeld! securing the top spot in the key demographic. This performance underscores Fox News continued dominance in cable news viewership during this period.